APC Chieftain Brutalized, Humiliated by DSS in Anambra

Former Anambra state coordinator for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaigns in 2007, Chief Ifeanyichukwu Nwokoye is almost going blind, following the beatings he received from men of the Department of State Security (DSS) on Monday.

He was brutalized, annihilated, battered and humiliated by the DSS for allegedly, not releasing information on the 22 expatriate medical Doctors invited by Anambra state Governor, Chief Willie Obiano for the indigent and less privileged persons in the state.

As at the time of filing this report yesterday Daily Times learnt Nwokoye was partially blind, while the treatment received at the Anambra state teaching hospital in Awka was the only thing that had given him a life line.

But the security operatives claim that what happened between the businessman and their men was when their men who allegedly were held hostage at Nwokoye’s hotel wanted to rescue their colleagues.

The State DSS Director, Alex Okeiyi, told Daily Times that the command was going to press charges against Nwokoye for assault occasioning harm and hostage taking.

He equally claimed that one of the staff was seriously injured and was taken to the DSS clinic in Awka as a result of injuries sustained.

According to him, “people should learn to respect security operatives because we are working for them, securing Anambra is at a cost, people should help us, our men are being targeted by hoodlums all the time”

Furthermore, Okeiyi alleged that Nwokoye, his wife and his hotel staff held three DSS staff hostage at May-Roses Hotel until the office sent reinforcement to secure their staff.

But Nwokoye told our Correspondent that when they bundled him and his wife Jessica to their office at Amawbia, they left him stark-naked and was hitting him with guns, helmet and other instruments until he fainted.

“I was equally handcuffed with my wife like common criminals, I have never seen such a thing all my life, the retina of my eyes has been damaged, I was humiliated for no offence committed”

According to him “it was in the hotel when these people worked in, three of them, they said they had information that a team of expatriates were quartered in the hotel and they demanded for their list and photo copies of their passports”

“They were told that they are there on the directives of the state government and I demanded for their identity because we did not know them and the security situation in the land is terrible, they refused and one of them hit his hand on the table that they will deal with me now”

“At that point, I moved outside the room and called the divisional police officer (DPO) central police station and ordered the people to lock the hotel gate, that was all, it is like they called their office for reinforcement, about 20 minutes, people came with siren.

“They started beating my wife, myself, handcuffed us and bundled us into their vehicle and took us to their office, where we were dumped into their cell, as if that was not enough, they brought me out removed my shirt, trouser and underwear and left me naked.

“One of the men came and kicked me at the lower wrong of my body and I fainted, but their boss came out and ordered them to cloth me, when I regained consciousness, I saw myself in a stretcher in their clinic, that was exactly what happened” he said.

When Daily Times called the principal secretary to Obiano, Willie Nwokoye, who signed the letter to the hotel for the medical Doctors to be booked in the May-Roses hotel, he refused to pick his calls.

But another government official who did not want his name in print, said that what the DSS did to “Ide Amawbia” was man’s inhumanity to man.

According to him, “why would they demand for the photocopies and identities of the medical Doctors brought in my government to treat the indigent and less privileged persons in the state.While didn’t they contact the government and inquire from us? The government official asked.